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Posts Tagged ‘David Dalglish’

David Dalglish is returning to his epic fantasy roots with a brand new trilogy. Promising monsters and magic in a land where both were previously just legend, Dalglish’s new trilogy will be another epic thrill ride. The first book is scheduled for 2019, but if you’re too excited to wait, make sure to pick up the Shadowdance and Seraphim series or say hi to the author on twitter @thatdalglishguy.

Devin Eveson is a Soulkeeper, traveling through remote villages as a preacher and healer. But when a dragon awakens–the size of a mountain and leaving great chasms in its wake–the veil is torn, flooding the land with ancient magic and forgotten raes. Now Devin must set aside his words of peace and accept his new role: slayer of monsters and protector of the human race.

But not all the creatures that have re-awakened mean humanity harm. And as Devin slowly befriends people of these new races, his discomfort in his role grows. But Soulkeepers must slay without mercy. And even sympathizers risk their wrath.

Bree and Kael Skyborn’s rebellion is coming to its action-packed end, and we can’t wait for you to read it! While you wait impatiently for the final book in the SERAPHIM trilogy to come out in November 2017, feast your eyes on this fantastic cover for SHADOWBORN, designed by Lauren Panepinto & Kirk Benshoff and with illustration by Tommy Arnold.

What started as a small rebellion has grown to all-out war, with the four minor islands uniting under the call for independence. But Kael Skyborn no longer trusts the mysterious leader of their rebellion, nor his disciples.

Bree Skyborn is the Phoenix of Weshern and the face of the rebellion. But when the enemy captures Kael, Bree no longer cares about the war or the call for independence. All that matters is rescuing her brother and putting a stop to the violence for once and for all.

Today, we’re very excited to unveil the newest novel in the the Seraphim series by USA Today bestselling author, David Dalglish. If you like aerial combat, swords on fire and more than a touch of mayham and war, then this is the series for you.

Art by Tommy Arnold, Design by Kirk Benshoff

Bree and Kael Skyborn have seen their island invaded, their Seraphim disbanded, and their royal family imprisoned.

A rebellion grows from the ashes, demanding Bree to be their Phoenix, their symbol against Center’s tyranny, and for Kael to find the doomsday prophet Johan and sway his cult to their side.

Should they fail, the hope of their rebellion fails with them.

This is the second novel in the trilogy and follows Skyborn, (US | UK | ANZ) which is out this November and it is available for pre-order now. To read more about the cover design process and the art of Tommy Arnold, check out this article.

“David Dalglish’s Skyborn is a compelling story. More than anything it reminds me of the best aspects of the Final Fantasy (ital or no?) games with their flying islands, fast pacing, and tonal mix of sunlight and shadow. Once you pick up Skyborn you won’t want to put it down, as the story carries you along from one high contrast moment to the next. Dalglish has really mastered the art of focusing the reader’s attention. I expect this series to fly off the shelves.”
—Kelly McCullough

“A soaring tale that nails the high notes. Skyborn had me gazing heavenward, imagining what could be.”
—Jay Posey

I was fortunate enough to art direct David’s first series, the Shadowdance novels, so when I heard we were ready to work on his next series I was super excited. SKYBORN (US | UK | AUS) is about the Seraphim, an elite military force protecting a floating island of Weshern. The Seraphim guard the remnants of mankind, defying gravity using ancient wings and mastering powerful elements to wage war in the skies.

The new series has been a different design challenge from the Shadowdance books in that we wanted to convey a different feel for the cover art. In David’s first series, we wanted emphasis on the main character, a ninja-like assassin, and the books’ energetic action. In Skyborn, the characters are a bit more unique in that they have metal wings to fly, wield swords, and wear military uniforms. Ultimately, the new series needed to convey high adventure.

In what I would call serendipitous timing, the work of Tommy Arnold came across my desk as we were discussing the covers. His style just hit the nail on the head for this project. His ability to illustrate characters was spot on. He could also handle textures beautifully: fabrics, metals, flames, etc. And most importantly, his illustrations really pull the viewer in and engage you. It was a no brainer in reaching out to get Tommy on board.

So after settling on what we wanted for the covers, we got Tommy moving. I couldn’t have had more fun designing David’s super fun new series with such a talented artist!

I’m thrilled to present the cover to Skyborn by David Dalglish!

Skyborn, the first volume of a new series by David Dalglish, will be hitting shelves November 2015.

Today, Orbit US & UK are very excited to announce the international acquisition of a new trilogy called the Seraphim by David Dalglish, author of the Shadowdance novels. We’ll be publishing the first, Skyborn, this November. I asked David to tell me about about why he is so excited about.

“With, I get to start from scratch in a brand new world, and try out ideas that wouldn’t work in a more traditional fantasy setting. But not everything’s changing. I love throwing fireballs around, and I love intricate sword fights. It’s what I do. It’s what I’m good at. In the Seraphim books, you’ll experience aerial battles at break-neck speed between elite soldiers flinging ice and fire and lightning at one another before clashing with their blades. How can you not have fun with that?”

Sounds good? I know! You can’t wait till November? Don’t worry. I’m reading it now and I’m telling you — its worth the wait!

Buy the Book

“…a winning combination of A Game of Thrones, sword-and-sorcery RPGs, and vivid description.” – Publishers Weekly on A DANCE OF CLOAKS

A DANCE OF SHADOWS (US | UK | AUS), the fourth Shadowdance novel, is out today! A bit about what lies ahead for the master assassin Haern:

When Lord Victor Kane attacks the city, determined to stamp out all corruption, foreign gangs pour in amidst the chaos in an attempt to overthrow the current lords of the underworld.

And when a mysterious killer known as the Widow begins mutilating thieves, paranoia engulfs the city. Haern knows someone is behind the turmoil, pulling strings. If he doesn’t find out who — and soon — his beloved city will burn.

David Dalglish’s action-packed stories are hugely addictive. If you’re new to the Shadowdance novels, here is an excerpt from the first book, A DANCE OF CLOAKS. For those of you with a long weekend coming up, there is no better time to start reading this thrilling fantasy series.

Over on Buzzfeed today, David Dalglish shares a personal story about the time he ran a Dungeons & Dragons campaign set in the world of the Shadowdance novels, and the mayhem that followed. Start your morning off with a smile and this great read. If you’ve ever DM’d a game before, I’m sure you’ll be able to empathize with his trauma.

Are you sitting down? If not, then you should be because these covers are going to knock you off your feet. The Orbit Art Department has again delivered some positively breathtaking jackets. Enjoy this preview of our Fall and Winter line-up with more to follow over the next few months.

Click on the images below to see a larger version and appreciate each cover in its full glory. Let us know which books are headed to your wish list!

Wishlists at the ready, it’s that time of year again! Orbit is incredibly proud to present a selection of covers from this autumn to winter in 2015. There is plenty more incredible cover art yet to be released, but for now enjoy this brilliant preview of what’s to come later this year and early next.

author post

So I’m sure there’s at least a few people out there (or at least I’m going to pretend there is) curious about my transition from ‘self-publishing idiot’ to ‘an idiot being published by Orbit’. I should probably make something clear first. Coming in from self-publishing, I’d heard plenty of…let’s call it propaganda. Traditional publishing is evil! It’s the devil! They’ll buy your soul, run it through a paper shredder, make you change your characters into bland rip-offs of something else that’s popular, then feed your soul back to you in quarterly intervals. Also they’ll never do anything to help sell your books, treat you like scum, ignore your calls, and probably murder your puppy while they’re at it.

Now I’m sure there’s at least one puppy-murdering publisher out there, but I’d never actually quite bought into all of this. It’s one thing to believe a business is acting like, you know, a business, another to believe they were cartoon level villainy needing to be conquered by G.I. Joe. But even if I didn’t believe it, I still heard all the horror stories, the examples, the warnings… and it builds up a bit of an expectation. So after signing with Orbit and beginning the editing process, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have any butterflies in my stomach as I got to peek behind the curtain. Read the rest of this entry »